I am not one to dwell on the passing of many celebrities because, frankly, I don’t know them. But I feel obligated to speak about Alan Rickman.

The Harry Potter Series is what launched my entire generation into reading books that would be turned into movies. It wasn’t the first one by any stretch but it was the biggest one of our time. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were actually older than me by a few years so they were characters that I looked up to as I grew up. And one thing remained the same for many, many years: we all hated Snape. He was mean for (seemingly) no reason to Harry and worst of all (gasp) he was a Slytherin! They are all evil right? Well, we obviously learn different as the books go on which is what made Alan Rickman so incredibly unique and amazing – he managed to convince people for years that he was inherently evil and then one day, we learned he was the strongest, bravest man of them all. I cannot recall another time in my life where I have had that experience.

Snape is the character and Alan is the man but that man brought that character to life. Without him, I think it’s safe to say that this series would not have been so incredibly loved.

RIP Alan Rickman and prayers are going towards your closest family and loved ones. May they find peace in knowing that you lived a full life that will always be with myself and many, many others. We will always remember you. Always.